Jad The Impaler
by MekQuarrie
Summary: A dangerous universe. One slip can change everything. Good luck, good fortune. Bad luck, bad fortune. :: 'Andromeda Galaxy' image reworked from Wikimedia Commons.
1. Chapter 1

The water sparkled as always. The edge was muddy as always. Today, as the sunlight struggled to penetrate the trees, the tortured twinkling on the water surface attracted the sparkle-flies who fluttered and spiralled up to the trees much later in the morning. Nadia lowered her hood to watch them better, and let the light warm her freshly shaven head. She smiled, and steadied her footing in the mud.

"Watch the edge, Jad," she said to her little friend. "You'll fall in the water."

Jadzia was also five years old, but looked smaller and younger. Her smooth scalp and wide smile made her look more like a baby than a young student. "They come down to talk to the fishes. Look there." Little Jadzia pointed into the brook and smiled at the fish swimming by. One of the smallest fish paused to nudge the surface. Its eyes were temporarily magnified into a comical blink.

"Watch the edge," said Nadia again. "Say goodbye to your fish friends. We'll be late for the ceremony." She jogged off up the hill towards the monastery, singing the 'splash' song as she went.

"Wait for me," said Jadzia pulling up the waist of her shorts to get ready to run. "Don't leave me behind."

A tiny splash from the brook made her turn briefly. The sparkle-flies were gathering around the staring fish. She smiled, but remembered their haste and turned to follow her friend.

"Oh," she shouted. Her twisting, turning body lost its balance and her fat little foot caught in the mud. With a big splash she tumbled into the water, scattering the flies and the fish.

"Help," she shouted. Her top half broke free of the water, but then her slight weight carried her back down again. Her little arms grabbed at the side as she rose again and, before fear could engulf her, little fingers twisted in feathers of grass and little elbows plunged into soft mud.

"Nadia," she called, but her friend was long gone. She spat out the gritty water from her mouth and, as the flow of the brook tore at her little legs, she let her face and shoulders and chest flop onto the mud and wriggle forward onto the firmer grass.

"Sorry flies," she whispered. She kept her eyes closed and let her breathing continue, heavy and deep. "Sorry fishes."

When the weight of the panic had drained from her, she stood up. It was difficult to tell how long she had been lying down. She rubbed her hands over her smooth head and looked down at her robes. She was covered in mud and her face felt much the same.

"I'll be fine," she reassured herself. "I'll be fine." She wrung the edges of her sleeves and ran away up the path. The flies continued to buzz and the fish continued to swim on their way.

**:::**

At the top of the broken stone staircase, the hill leveled out to form a flat plateau which was bordered almost totally by the low walls of the monastery. Tiny arches along the wall allowed entrance at dozen of points. Jadzia's favorite path passed the Whispering Grove and continued directly into the Shadow Hall.

"Why are you late, Jadzia?" said the youngest acolyte, a teenage boy, as she entered the hall. "Join the red robes by the fireplace."

"I'm a blue robe," she replied. "I need to run up to my bunk to change." She pointed off to the distant dormitories.

"It is too late," said the acolyte. "And when I tell you to do something, you should do it." He pointed firmly.

Jadzia strode heavily over to the large group of little boys and girls with their red and orange formal robes. She recognized very few of their faces. They did not part to let her join them as a group, so she stood at the front of them.

"Where did the blue robes go?" she whispered to the children either side of her. The boy nearest her made a shushing noise and pulled his hood up over his close-shaven head.

The elder monks appeared at the doorway. The most senior woman, her symbiont spots just visible on her cheeks, stepped forward to address the red-robed children.

"This is your first ceremony of the ascendants. For you all here, the ceremony has been brief and is now over. For those who have ascended today, the journey to symbiosis is still a long one."

She clapped her hands as a signal and let the young students shuffle away quietly. Jadzia stepped aside and waited for the crowd to clear. One of the girls at the back tried to persuade her to come by holding her wrist, but she let the hand slip away.

"Madame?" she asked quietly. "I'm Jadzia."

"Hurry along now, little one.," said the old face. "There is much to do before lunch." She turned away to join the other elders.

"I was supposed to go up with the blue robes," she said quickly, her voice trembling. "I fell in the water and I came in late. Can I run up and join them now? I'll wash first."

The voice was clear, the eyes neutral. "Clean yourself up. As I have just said, you can ascend with the next school."

Jadzia blinked. Her pale cheeks were tinged with pink. "When will that be? I'm ready now."

"Patience will be a reward in itself. Next year will come quickly."

Jadzia scratched her nose. "Next year? All my friends will be gone by then. Let me clean up. I won't be long." She rubbed her hands down her the middle of her shirt to brush off the dried mud.

"You must go with the other children now, or I will have to return you to your village, little one," said the older symbiont. "Your haste is not good. More time will improve your temperament."

Jadzia was left standing, her eyes burning with emotion, then she slowly moved to follow the other children.


	2. Chapter 2

In the red robe dorm, Jadzia stood in the dark. Everyone she had known was gone. They were all advancing to the next step, all one day hoping to be a symbiont host. She looked briefly at all the bunks of those she had known as friends then retrieved her favorite print-pages from the shelves and a small pocket of clothing from under her bunk.

"Be quick," hissed Martan from the doorway. "Neither of us should be in here now. The dorm has to rest for fifteen days."

"Thank you, Martan. You have been a good friend to me. Like an elder sister." She threw the pages into the pocket and slung it over her shoulder.

"Shh," Martan replied. "We are all a family here. Other ideas of family are gone now."

Jadzia looked up at the dark ceiling and the holes and pits that had frightened her during many quiet nights. "I'm done here," she said.

Martan beckoned her to the doorway. "Talk later, little one. Leave the room to its rest."

Jadzia stepped into the corridor. "What do I do now?"

"You can plan your future once you've spoken to Master Zian. I'm sure he will put you forward for next year's school. You can catch up with your friends with hard work and…" Martan hesitated to finish her words.

"Good luck?" Jadzia answered. She felt a little of the heat of her confusion building inside.

Martan scowled and ruffled her hair. "Shh. These are not things we need to say." She looked up and down the corridor.

"Is everything planned, Martan?" Jadzia asked. The heat was subsiding and she was left feeling a little frightened.

"Of course, Jadzia. All planned." She hugged Jadzia's shoulder briefly. "We just don't always know what the plan is."

Jadzia hugged her round the waist. "I hope for a good path," she whispered.

Martan stood her up straight and looked her in the eye. "Very few who go forward to the symbiont school will finally be able to carry a symbiont. We only know that there is much joy and much peril, whatever happens."

Jadzia looked up at her. Her eyes felt wet and sore. "I thought I would be going ahead with my friends. Now I have to wait another year. That's too long. Will I be happy?"

Martan looked down at her and met her eyes. She said nothing.

"Will you look after me? If the path is difficult." Jadzia closed her eyes. "If my luck goes bad."

"I will do what I can," Martan whispered. "Yes. Now, go. Go see your Master." Martan waved her hand toward the end of the corridor and stepped back. Jadzia took a few steps forward then turned back to Martan. She waved sadly then walked away at a more determined pace. "Goodbye for now, Martan. I will see you later."

Martan looked back into the dorm, remembering all the other young faces, but the memories were already fading. She stood in the corridor and watched the shadows.

**:::**

The Masters had small cells to themselves on the upper floors. The younger students were only allowed to visit the floor at specific times for tutoring.

Jadzia looked carefully around the open door. Zian was filling a small traveling crate with metal objects and instruments. A few papers were also thrown in.

"Are you moving room, Master?" asked Jadzia. Her small face appeared at the edge of the door frame.

Zian stood still. "Jad? Why are you still here? You should be with your friends. I am no longer your Master." He lowered his head and continued to fill the crate. Now he threw some of the things on the floor.

"I fell in the river and missed the ceremony," she said moving into the cell. "They wouldn't let me go with the others. I feel sad."

Zian looked briefly to the side, away from Jadzia. He breathed in heavily. The flicker from the oil lamp in the corner made his face dark and bright by turns.

"I am leaving tonight, Jad," he said quietly. "I had waited until you had gone up with this years students. But now I must go. You will find another Master."

"A second Master?" Jadzia shook her head. "They say: 'A second Master says nothing new'. I'll be at the back of a classroom listening to all the same things again."

"But 'old knowledge stays ahead'. I'm sorry, Jad. I have tried to look after you. I stayed here longer than I should have, just to make sure you were dedicated."

"I might not graduate next year," she whispered. "I can't remember all those verses I learned from you. Not for a whole year. All those exercises they taught us made me tired. I need to rest." She attempted to catch the edge of his sleeve to make him stop packing.

"You are a survivor, Jad. And a thinker. And a fighter. Maybe the symbiont program was not enough for you anyway." He was going to say more, but his attention was distracted again.

A small figure in a sandy cape had appeared at the doorway behind Jadzia. The person was only marginally taller than Jadzia.

"Now?" said Zian. The figure nodded.

"The skimmer is ready," it hissed. Zian threw a small jingling bag to the visitor.

"Are those coins?" asked Jadzia. "I thought 'Money and metal mend little'?"

Zian ignored her, pulled his hood up over his head, picked up the crate, and went to the door.

The other visitor held out a gloved hand to prevent Jadzia from leaving.

"Where are you going?" she asked stepping forward. "Everyone will want to know where you're going."

"Go back to bed, little girl," it hissed. Then a small booted foot swept under Jadzia's heels and she tumbled to the floor. Her little hands grabbed at the air as her lower back then her shoulders collided with the stone floor.

"Stay down!" the visitor hissed as it left the cell. The lamp flickered out and the room fell dark.


End file.
